Further Elaboration

I thought perhaps I should provide a longer update on my life as of late, since yesterday's skim-over was really that. First, though, I would like to send a special shout-out (pretend this is the radio) to my Grandma Herr, who is celebrating her birthday today. Happy Birthday Grandma, and many more!

I have been working on many projects as of late. The main one has been trying to get a proposal complete for my professional project for IYFD (similar to a thesis, except...different...). I have decided to build the project off of a non-profit that I "created" last semester in my non-profit administration class. I am continuing to develop the non-profit this semester through strategic planning, fundraising development proposals, and grantwriting. Taking off from this, I am planning on developing curriculum pieces for peer education trainings, peer education events, support groups, and parent outreach. The population for the non-profit will be teenagers in the Manitowoc County high schools and junior high schools. The mission statement for TEACHA is as follows:
TEACHA (Teens Educating About Creating Healthy Avenues) is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to creating safe and healthy environments for teenagers to form their identities within the Manitowoc County, WI, community. TEACHA utilizes peer education programs, support groups, after-school activities, and parent outreach programming to address real-life sexual behaviors, risks of drugs and alcohol use, social-emotional health issues, and personal identity development.
Needless to say, I am excited to get this project rolling and find my committee members. I have one down, and I just need a confirmation from another that she'll serve on my committee.

I am also busy trying to plan for the Graduate Student/Faculty Research Conference that will be held in early April. Proposals are due soon, so I am busy trying to work on my abstract. A presentation is a requirement for one of our classes, whether it is presented at the conference or in class, and I figure that it will be good experience to present at a conference. I will be presenting a paper that I began last semester and will continue this semester: "Crisis in the Western Hemisphere: Maternal Healthcare in Haiti". The statistics are fascinating.

Along with this, we are also trying to finish up our grant for the YWCA Transitional Housing program, which is a proposal for $12,000 to build a playground in the backyard of six of the program's units. We have a product together, and it just needs finalizing from here on out. Hopefully submission is around the corner.

Some classmates and I have also decided to work together on a group project for our Social Work in a Global Context course that will focus on child prostitution and trafficking in three different areas of the world. While we haven't identified which geographical areas yet, this will allow us to each do a significant amount of research for the project, with the final piece being a culmination of each of our pieces. If you have never read about the amount of child and human trafficking that goes on in our world, I would suggest that you do - it's fascinating and heartbreaking, devastating and affecting real people's lives. I will keep you updated on what we find.

Next weekend will be our trip to Phoenix for Brewers' Spring Training, which I am so excited about. I am crossing my fingers that the games do not get hailed out, like the game I attended last year. Al and I were in the process of booking our hotel, and we had decided that since we were only spending two nights in a hotel, we could splurge a little and get a nice one. So, we were excited to stay at the Radisson City Center in downtown Phoenix..until they slapped an extra $50 in fees onto the price. At that point, we were like, "hmmm, how much was that Travelodge? the Super 8?" So, we are staying very luxuriously in the Super 8. Don't worry - it has a pool. Hopefully it is a semi-clean pool. Temperatures are supposed to be high-70s, so I of course am looking forward to it.

Much love. Peace.